Wounds and Wins

A few weeks ago I heard a Worship Pastor say that we (meaning Worship Pastors) judge ourselves by our "wounds and wins".  Meaning, we judge ourselves by all of the hard and rough times we've gone through in ministry and by all the successes we've experienced in ministry.  And it's true!  Put two Worship Pastors in a room together and they'll start off by talking about the good things they are involved in within music ministry, but eventually they will begin showing off battle scars from all the wars they've endured during their time in ministry.  And in all honesty, most of their time together will be spent telling war stories and showing off scars and more recent wounds.  Well, with this week's post I want to share with you some of the "WINS" I've experienced at MPBC and not get bogged down by the "wounds" and scars I've endured and accumulated in my 20 years of ministry.  So, here we go:

1.  No More Worship Wars:  We have a church that doesn't argue about music and musical styles anymore.  Any church that has been around for awhile will eventually have to deal with what style of music they are going to have.  And I am happy to say that MPBC gives me and the worship team the freedom to use whatever style of music we want or need, to create an atmosphere of worship.  That can't be said in a lot of churches across the country.  They argue every week over what instruments will be played, whether to sing modern worship songs or older hymns, and how loud or soft the music needs to be.  I'm grateful to say that we are past that.

 Now, that doesn't mean that everyone is happy with the musical selections each week.  No, it just means that people understand the fact that not every song or style has to be geared towards them.  Sometimes, we do songs for the younger generation (like "Grace Like a Wave") and sometimes we do songs for the older generation (like our version of "Victory in Jesus").  Our people seem to understand that worship isn't about them.  And that is most definitely a "WIN"!!!

2.  Congregational Singing:  We have a church that sings.  Now, don't get me wrong, not everyone sings.  But as I look out over the congregation each Sunday morning, a LOT of people are singing and participating.  Some, obviously more than others.  But still, they're participating and that's pretty awesome!

3.  The Next Generation:  One of the great things about MPBC is how many young adults are involved in the music and worship ministry here.  They are actively involved each

and every Sunday in leading in worship.  They are gaining great experience and it's good to know that one day when my voice is gone and I can't play the guitar anymore, someone else will be ready to step in and take my place.

4.  The Passion Play:  This year we'll be presenting our 9th Passion Play.  It seems like just yesterday I was asking Kelly Nichols to play Jesus in our very 1st play and now we're on our 3rd actor to portray Jesus.  The Passion Play has been a tremendous ministry for the church and a blessing to

everyone who has participated in it or witnessed it (at least I hope).  We've seen a number of people make decisions for Christ throughout the years and also a number of people get introduced to MPBC for the first time who have since come to be active members.  Many of them have gone on to participate in the Passion Play themselves.

5.  Investment:  We have a church that is willing to invest in the music and worship ministry.  Most churches don't like to spend money on music.  It always seems to come in last in terms of need when compared to other ministries within the church.  But not here.  The church is proud of our music and worship and is willing to invest money in it to make it better.  The church was even willing hire a full-time Media Director and hire me an assistant who has become our worship ministry associate.  I know a lot of other Worship Pastors who would love to have the help that I have.

6.  Worship Projects:  One of the really cool things that we've been able to do here at MPBC is to record our own worship

CD's.  And through them we've been able to share the gospel and encourage people.  I've been amazed to hear stories of people in other states who have heard one of our CD's and how a song that we wrote or recorded helped them through hard times they were going through or encouraged them to be more dedicated to following Christ.  It's pretty cool!  

Now, I'm pretty sure I could just keep on listing example after example of "WINS" that we've seen here at MPBC, but I think you get the idea.  I've experienced a lot of "wounds" in my time in ministry, but I'm grateful for MPBC, because now my "WINS" far outnumber them.

Worship Big!

Brad